Recreational Science

Crossing the street alone is a difficult and dangerous task for young kids. Is it even more perilous for overweight and out-of-shape children?

Kids are notorious picky eaters. When does this start? In the womb?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth play another game of Family Feud But Science and discuss practical athleticism in overweight children and whether fetuses are picky "eaters."

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:38 BTS
• 1:48 Family Feud But Science
• 15:00 Fat kids study
• 26:23 Fetuses study
• 35:03 Let’s read some mail (pyroflatulence)
• 39:22 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Chaddock et al., 2012. Role of Childhood Aerobic Fitness in Successful Street Crossing. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2012/04000/role_of_childhood_aerobic_fitness_in_successful.23.aspx
• Ustin et al., 2022. Flavor Sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviors in the Human Fetus. Psychological science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09567976221105460
• Ladas et al., 2007. Colonic gas explosion during therapeutic colonoscopy with electrocautery. World Journal of Gastroenterology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4171316/

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

What do men and women look for in an ideal partner for a one night stand, friends with benefits relationship, and marriage? What’s the best way to find out? An economics experiment, of course.

Do hamsters experience jet lag? Do hamsters respond to Viagra? Does Viagra cure jet lag in hamsters?

In the season 2 premier, Lu and Tirth catchup on all the life changing events that took place during the offseason and discuss giving people “mate dollars” to build their ideal mate and using Viagra to treat jet lag in hamsters.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:52 Big updates from the offseason
• 6:45 Booty call study
• 19:09 Jet lag study
• 26:54 Let’s read some mail
• 29:22 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• March et al., 2018. Netflix and Chill? What Sex Differences Can Tell Us About Mate Preferences in (Hypothetical) Booty-Call Relationships. Evolutionary Psychology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474704918812138
• Agostino et al., 2007. Sildenafil accelerates reentrainment of circadian rhythms after advancing light schedules. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0703388104

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

Season 2 will premier on May 19, 2026. We're fairly sure. Probably. Who knows?

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

In this bonus RecSci Quick Bites episode, Lu and Tirth discuss a medical use of bacon, the relationship between penis size and sports cars, the effectiveness of rollercoasters in passing kidney stones, the long-term effects of knuckle cracking, surname sharing amongst economist coauthors, the jollity of visiting mall Santas, and the best scientific abstract ever written.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:57 Bacon study
• 3:50 Sports car study
• 6:48 Rollercoaster study
• 8:25 Knuckle cracking study
• 10:35 Author surname study
• 13:44 Mall Santa study
• 16:05 Best abstract ever
• 17:08 Outro

Article links:

• Humphreys et al., 2011. Nasal packing with strips of cured pork as treatment for uncontrollable epistaxis in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia. Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000348941112001107
• Richardson et al., 2023. Small Penises and Fast Cars: Evidence for a Psychological Link. Psyarxiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/uy7ph_v1
• Mitchell & Wartinger, 2016. Validation of a Functional Pyelocalyceal Renal Model for the Evaluation of Renal Calculi Passage While Riding a Roller Coaster. Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2016.128/html
• Unger, 1998. Does knuckle cracking lead to arthritis of the fingers? Arthritis and Rheumatism. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5%3C949::AID-ART36%3E3.0.CO;2-3
• Goodmen et al., 2015. A Few Goodmen: Surname-Sharing Economist Coauthors. Economics Inquiry. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ecin.12167
• Trainkaus, 2004. Visiting Santa: an informal look. Psychological Reports. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.2466/pr0.95.2.587-588
• Berry et al., 2011. Can apparent superluminal neutrino speeds be explained as a quantum weak measurement? Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1751-8113/44/49/492001

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

In this bonus episode of RecSci Quick Bites, Lu and Tirth discuss more funny studies they didn’t get to talk about at length during season one. These include making knives out of poop, performing colonoscopy on yourself, reasons why babies are so small, the happiness of Olympic medalists, the worst time to consume chili, zebra-striped mannequins, and giving it to Reviewer 2.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:50 Knife study
• 3:37 Self-scoping study
• 5:44 Babies study
• 7:56 Olympian study
• 10:57 Chili study
• 12:28 Zebra study
• 15:31 Reviewer 2 study
• 18:22 Outro

Article links:

• Eren et al., 2019. Experimental replication shows knives manufactured from frozen human feces do not work. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X19305371?via%3Dihub
• Horiuchi & Nakayama, 2006. Colonoscopy in the sitting position: lessons learned from self-colonoscopy by using a small-caliber, variable-stiffness colonoscope. Gastointenstinal Endoscopy. https://www.giejournal.org/article/S0016-5107(05)03012-9/
• Ellstrand, 1982. Why are juveniles smaller than their parents? Evolution. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1558-5646.1983.tb05637.x
• Medvec et al., 1995. When Less Is More: Counterfactual Thinking and Satisfaction Among Olympic Medalists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.69.4.603
• Gupta, 2007. Red hot chilli consumption is harmful in patients operated for anal fissure - a randomized, double-blind, controlled study. Digestive Surgery. https://karger.com/dsu/article-abstract/24/5/354/116015/Red-Hot-Chilli-Consumption-Is-Harmful-in-Patients
• Horvath et al., 2019. Striped bodypainting protects against horseflies. Royal Society Open Science. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/6/1/181325/94617/Striped-bodypainting-protects-against
• Peterson, 2020. Dear reviewer 2: Go F’ Yourself. Social Science Quarterly. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ssqu.12824

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

In this bonus episode, Lu and Tirth do some RecSci Quick Bites or funny studies they didn’t get to discuss at length during season one. These include an unusual finding on colonoscopy, ergonomic toilet seats, Japan’s Phillips curve, the misuse of the word promiscuity, the deal with birds, fruit bat fellatio part 2, and a case of untreated writer’s block.

This episode is part of the 4th edition of Podcasthon! This is the world’s largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters globally to raise awareness for important causes.

Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Podcasthon: https://podcasthon.org/

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:27 Colonoscopy study
• 4:04 Toilet seat study
• 5:59 Japan study
• 7:02 Promiscuity study
• 8:47 Birds study
• 10:05 Fruit bat study
• 12:00 Writer’s block study
• 13:01 Outro

Article links:

• Tahan et al., 2019. An Unusual Finding of a Ladybug on Screening Colonoscopy. ACG Case Reports Journal. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6791639/
• Lustig et al., 2018. Beware of the toilet: the risk for a deep tissue injury during toilet sitting. Journal of Tissue Viability. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965206X17300670?via%3Dihub
• Smith, 2006. Japan’s Phillips Curve Looks Like Japan. Queen's Economics Department Working Paper No. 1083. http://qed.econ.queensu.ca/working_papers/papers/qed_wp_1083.pdf
• Elgar et al., 2013. Promiscuous words. Frontiers in Zoology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1742-9994-10-66
• Baldassarre, 2020. What’s the Deal with Birds? Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews. https://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/birds.pdf
• Maruthupandian et al., 2013. Cunnilingus apparently increases duration of copulation in the Indian flying fox, Pteropus giganteus. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059743
• Upper, 1974. The unsuccessful self-treatment of a case of “writer's block.” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1311997

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

How do you make yourself lift more at the gym? Have you tried swearing?

Kids need potty training, but what about animals? Does potty training cows make them healthier and happier?

In the season 1 finale, Lu and Tirth do a year-end review and discuss how saying your favorite swear word makes you stronger at the gym and how to potty train cows using an electric trainer.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:45 Year-end review
• 7:37 Swearing study
• 25:25 Potty training study
• 37:01 Is this SPAM? An update
• 42:43 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Jiannine & Antonio, 2023. The Effects of Cursing on Exercise Performance. Journal of Exercise Physiology online. https://www.asep.org/asep/asep/JEPonlineOCTOBER2023_Lia%20Jiannine_Jose%20Antonio.pdf
• Stephens et al., 2025. “Don’t Hold Back”: Swearing Improves Strength Through State Disinhibition. American Psychologist. https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2027-01514-001.html
• Bergsten et al., 1992. The cleanliness of cows tied in stalls and the health of their hooves as influenced by the use of electric trainers. Preventive Veterinary Medicine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/016758779290038H

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

Graphene is a fascinating material with the potential to help solve the world’s energy needs. Can you improve graphene with poop?

Garlic is a superfood packed with flavor and health benefits. Yes, garlic causes bad breath, but could it actually improve your body odor?

In this remunerative episode, Lu and Tirth discuss the electrocatalytic effects of doping graphene with guano and whether eating garlic makes men smell more desirable to women.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:16 Is this SPAM?
• 11:43 Graphene study
• 22:10 Garlic study
• 34:34 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Wang et al., 2020. Will Any Crap We Put into Graphene Increase Its Electrocatalytic Effect? ACS Nano. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.9b00184
• Fialova et al., 2016. Consumption of garlic positively affects hedonic perception of axillary body odour. Appetite. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666315300787

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

How do economics work in a strip club? What are the factors that go into how much a stripper makes in tips? Do strippers earn more tips when they’re ovulating?

Men are prone to doing some dumb, poorly planned, and aggressive stuff. Is testosterone to blame? Does testosterone make men serve more hot sauce to other people?

In this episode, to celebrate the supposed end of Tirth’s bachelorhood, Lu and Tirth discuss surprising factors that affect how much money lap dancers make and how testosterone levels in men make them more aggressive with hot sauce.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:34 Tirth’s “not” bachelor party
• 8:37 Stripper study
• 20:51 Testosterone study
• 31:13 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Miller et al., 2007. Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earnings by lap dancers: economic evidence for human estrus? Evolution and Human Behavior. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1090513807000694
• Klinesmith et al., 2006. Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression: An Experimental Test of a Mediational Hypothesis. Psychological Science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01745.x

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)

Humans recognize each other’s faces. Chimps recognize each other’s butts. However, do chimps recognize human butts? Do humans recognize human butts? Do humans recognize chimp butts? All these questions must be asked.

Getting surgery, even minor procedures, triggers anxiety. Do clowns help kids relax pre-surgery? Is there room for clowns in pediatric operating rooms?

In this episode, Lu and Tirth discuss historic science gaffes, how human faces are quite similar to chimpanzee butts, and whether clowns can be good anxiolytics for children.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:55 Dave talk
• 5:27 Historic science gaffes quiz
• 19:22 Chimp butt study
• 36:49 Clown studies
• 50:29 What did you learn today, outro

Article links:

• Kret & Tomonaga, 2016. Getting to the Bottom of Face Processing. Species-Specific Inversion Effects for Faces and Behinds in Humans and Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes). PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0165357
• Vagnoli et al., 2005. Clown doctors as a treatment for preoperative anxiety in children: a randomized, prospective study. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0466
• Golan et al., 2009. Clowns for the prevention of preoperative anxiety in children: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatric Anesthesia. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1460-9592.2008.02903.x

You can find Recreational Science (#RecSciPod) everywhere great podcasts are found!

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Recreational Science is produced by Scientafic (https://www.scientafic.com/recscipod)